MCC violation complaint: East Delhi returning officer issues notice to Sisodia

The East Delhi returning officer on Tuesday issued a notice to Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on a complaint that he violated the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) by tweeting the caste of AAP candidate, Atish, for the East Delhi Lok Sabha seat.

Acting on the complaint by the Delhi unit of BJP, the returning officer asked Sisodia to furnish his comments on the matter by 5 pm tomorrow.

"I am sad that BJP and Congress together are spreading lies about the religion of our East Delhi candidate Atishi. BJP and Congressmen! ...Her full name is Atishi Singh. She is a Rajputani, a hardcore kshatrani... the queen of Jhansi. Beware of her. She will win and create history too," he tweeted in Hindi on April 27.

The returning officer said that prima facie the tweet appears to attract the provisions of sub-section (3-A) of section 123 of the Representation of People Act, 1951.

"It also appears to be in violation of the Manual on Model Code of Conduct pertaining to general conduct...," the notice said.

Atishi is pitted against former Test cricketer Gautam Gambhir, who is the BJP nominee.

Delhi, where seven Lok Sabha seats are at stake, will go to polls on May 12 in the sixth phase of seven-phase Lok Sabha elections. The counting of votes will take place on May 23.